Make Ahead Root Vegetable Breakfast Burritos

Whether you run in the morning or in the evening, breakfast is always a very important meal for runners in training. After a little prep work on Sunday, these Make Ahead Root Vegetable Burritos offer a lot of nutrition but extra no effort in the morning!

In these Make-Ahead Root Vegetable Breakfast Burritos, healthy carbs can be found in the root vegetables and tortillas (and we all know how amazing beets are for runners), plus protein in the eggs, ground turkey, and refried black beans. The only thing missing from the burrito is a healthy fat; I have provided a recipe for a 1-minute guacamole to top your burrito that is quick and easy to make in the mornings and will give you the healthy fats that we need to absorb other nutrients.

There is one thing to remember when making make-ahead burritos: steam is your enemy! Make sure each ingredient is cooled COMPLETELY prior to assembling the burritos & do not warm the tortillas or beans. Steam will give you soggy tortillas, so to make a good make-ahead burrito we need to make sure there is no steam or heat!

Any root vegetables can be substituted for the sweet potato, beets, or carrots (such as parsnips, rutabagas, jicama, etc.) but I would encourage you to try to use the beets; they are so good for you! In addition, any meat can be substituted for the ground turkey (mmmm… bacon), or no meat at all! Burritos really are a choose your own adventure type of meal.

In a large, high sided pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and ground turkey. Season the ground turkey with 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼-⅛ tsp cayenne pepper (according to preference), ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper. Brown the turkey until it is cooked all the way through, around 5-7 minutes. Remove the turkey to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set in the fridge to cool.

In the same pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil and the sweet potato, beets, carrot, yellow onion, and green pepper. Season with 2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, ¼-⅛ tsp cayenne pepper (according to taste), ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper. Add 3 tbsp of water to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook, covered for 10 minutes. Give the mixture a good stir, then add 3 more tbsp of water and cook, covered for 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft (but not mushy).

Add the minced jalapeno and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring several times.

Remove the vegetable mixture into the same bowl as the turkey, and set in the fridge to cool.

In the same pan, add 2 tbsp of butter. Add the egg mixture, season with 1/4 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Scramble the eggs over medium-low heat until they are cooked to your liking, then place the eggs in its own bowl and set in the fridge to cool.

Place the chopped spinach into a clean dish towel and squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can.

To the vegetable/meat mixture, add the chopped cilantro and spinach. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as desired.

Place all ingredients into the fridge or freezer to cool completely. Do not skip this step!!

When all ingredients are cooled, assemble the burritos: Place tortilla on the foil and spread a layer of refried black beans in the middle. Add a scoop of the vegetable/meat mixture, some eggs, and top with cheese if desired. I find that this step is easier to do all burritos at once like a production line; this way you know how much to put in each burrito if you want to use up all the ingredients.

Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll to make the burrito. Wrap in foil and store in the fridge.

1 Minute Guacamole:

Mash ½ avocado in a bowl with a fork.

With your hands, rip up the cilantro leaves- don’t spend a ton of time trying to make them small; a few rips will do.

Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and squeeze the lime wedge and mix.

Notes:

Don’t stress about having the exact amount of eggs or vegetable/meat mixture if you want to increase the number of burritos to an even 20 (the tortillas usually come in packages of 10). If you make all the burritos you want at the same time in a production line, you can simply equally divide your eggs and veggies so that each burrito has the same amount and none gets wasted. If you do have leftovers, it can store in a Tupperware container and would make a delicious snack!

I do freeze these burritos but do not have specific reheating instructions. Usually, I place them in the oven at 375 degrees and wait about 30 minutes. If they are not heated through after that time I just remove the foil and pop them in the microwave for a few minutes.

To reheat from fridge: Place foil wrapped burrito in oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

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Lauren Dirkschneider

Lauren is a born and raised Minnesotan, currently living in Nebraska. She has been a lifelong athlete who picked up running during grad school, and hasn't looked back since! When she is not running you will find her in the kitchen making some amazing food, kayaking, knitting, or checking out local breweries.

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